A memoir of journeys made

I arrived in the town of Kalambaka after 3pm. Because of that, the owner of the hostel I stayed at advised me to leave the mountains be for the next day.

I heard a rustling sound. When I looked for its source, I saw this cutie! It was adorable how it stopped midstride – hoping to blend in to the background I guess. hehe

These honeycomb looking caves used to house hermit monks

There are buses that go up every 2 hours (09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00). I took her advise and got on the 11:00 bus as that’d give me enough time for much needed sleep!

Before getting on the bus, I bought 2 gyros (€3.40 for both!) to eat when I get hungry for my long day ahead. Also in my bag are the 2 fruit given to me by an elderly man the afternoon before. And just for good measure, I decided to buy a bread from the bakery literally in front of the bus stop.

Bus fare is €1.80. I got off at Grand Meteora – it’s the first and largest monastery in the area. From there, I started my walk up in the mountains – following the road. Next up was the viewpoint for Varlaam. I didn’t go inside as I’ll have to go down and up the mountain – yes, I was getting lazy! Hehe

Varlaam in the background as seen from the Grand Monastery

All the monastery are open today, Monday. Entrance fee was €6. Everyone is to dress modestly. There are skirts for women to put on top of their jeans or bare legs. There are also shawls available to cover up the shoulders.

Inside the Monastery of Great Meteoron

When I was told that I have to follow the path up in the mountains, somehow what I hand in mind is a trail. But actually, it really is the (concrete) road that I have had to walk on. The weather was just right – sunny but cloudy, not overbearingly hot with breeze every now and then. Also, the view is more than enough to distract me from the actual act of walking. According to my host, it was just a total of 4kms really. But with my frequent stops, the seemingly long distance I’ve covered, it seemed longer (but very doable!)

The tiny town of Kastriki

My view while I was eating my sandwich (gyro) for lunch

I was happily walking down this road when I was struck by how pretty the autumnal colours are!

My last monastery for the day, the Monastery of St. Stephen.

Since I kept bumping into them during the day, I eventually joined their little group. Heading down the mountains enroute back to Kalampaka .

My hostess recommended a taverna to me when I asked her where to eat. She said the place served fresh off the market, traditional food at a good price. Archontariki was just a minute’s walk from where I’m staying at. Just off the town square.

I was told I can seat anywhere I fancied so I chose a table near the window and got settled in. Since I seem to have only time for dinner on this trip, my evening meals tend to make up for the rushed ones of the day.

Browsing through the menu, I decided to have a starter, a main, and of course, dessert!

Due to the fact that I’m in Greece, I was craving for feta cheese.

Grilled feta cheese

For mains, I had lamb. Something that seems to be of a specialty. I asked for it to be paired with rice coz a meal just isn’t the same for me without it! Other options were potatoes, pasta, or vegetables.

Roasted lamb cooked with lemon and herbs

Dessert was another opportunity to try something local so I had kataifi. I was advised by them to let its temperature get warm first as it was from their fridge so that it’d melt in your mouth when you eat it. It tastes quite like baklava – very sweet. I was only able to eat half of it.

Kataifi

Being very satisfied with mu dinner at this taverna that night, I came back again for my dinner the next day. My total expense for the previous meal was 15euros! I wanted to try other dishes. :)

I still wanted my feta cheese so even if I was really tempted to have another plate of grilled feta cheese, I opted for something healthier and had Greek salad instead. Yummy!

Greek salad

For mains, I opted for a meat I love (chicken) and ordered for a souvlaki. It is a Greek dish where pieces of meat are skewered then grilled. Of course I paired it again with rice – wouldn’t have it any other way! hehe

Chicken souvlaki

I didn’t order any dessert as I was looking forward to eating my freshly picked pomegranate once I’m back in the hostel. I did order for a Greek coffee though. I was (pleasantly) surprised to learn when they told me that it’s on the house!

I’ve always wanted to see the amazing mountains of Meteora. Those rock formations that formed millions of years ago and which served as refuge of monks since the 12th century. Meteora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. SO even if it meant travelling to this gorgeous place on my own, I was more than up for it! :D

I arrived in Thessaloniki airport from Rome. It’s amazing travelling within the EU! Their free movement meant that there was not even any kind of check once we landed in Greece. Our flight was led to a gate that leads outside after you get your luggage!

Once outside, just follow the sign for the bus station which is literally just outside the doors, opposite side of the road. There is a kiosk that sells bus tickets. I bought a €2 ticket that would bring me to the main bus station (Macedonia Inter City Bus Station). After around 55mins, we’re at the terminal.

Inside the terminal, there are several counters where you can buy tickets from. To get to Meteora, you buy a ticket for Trikala (at counter 1), for €20.40. I had around 30mins to kill so I took that as a chance to freshen up and get some food in my tummy. I had 2 pizza (one to take away), a hot cup of tea, and a litre of water for less than €8! The bus was scheduled to leave at 12:00nn. 2.5hrs later, we arrived in Trikala. The bus ride was relaxing. No traffic enroute. And I had no one seated beside me!👍

Upon arriving in Trikala, I went to the ticketing counter and bought a ticket for Kalambaka (€2.60). This will be my base for exploring the mountains of Meteora. I opted to stay here so that I’d have more option for food and other shops. Also, more convenient as both the train and bus station will just be short walks away!

Coming back to Thessaloniki, I got on the 08:19 train (€15.20). The train station is only around 2mins walk from the town centre. It’s not an actual direct train as we’ve had to change at a certain station – there was an announcement though so you shouldn’t miss it (and almost everyone changed there)! And the next train is just the platform beside it. You just get off the train and get on the one opposite it! 👍

It’s not everyday that you’re in the beautiful island of Santorini where riding one of the donkeys (or mule) had been done since who -knows-when-but-might-as well-do-it-coz it’s-definitely-an-experience! It’s a quintessential Santorini experience along with watching-the-sunset-wearing-gorgeous-clothes-for-those-picture-perfect-shots (we weren’t since we’ve just come from a boat tour)! I would recommend it despite the fact that while atop my ride, another mule (accidentally) spewed spit on my foot or that other mules’ tails flicked my leg or that my ride can’t make up it’s mind if it’d gallop up the staircase (I had to hold on pretty tight!) or just munch on grass while we’re on a turn hence blocking the traffic (I was trying to coerce it to get moving again to no avail). It was so entertaining I didn’t mind any of those! It was a different story while we were walking down earlier that day though. Ugh! lol

Gregory on his donkey. :D

2. Eat – and drink!

Daphne Taverna

So many things had been written about Santorini and its sunset that I had no clue that they’ve got amazing foods! My bad coz it IS a Greek island and that should be reason enough, Back in the Philippines, I’d always want to eat out in a Greek/ Mediterranean restaurant. As almost always the case, the authentic ones are better – plus cheaper! Also, this 2013, the island is celebrating a year of gastronomy thus highlighting their rich culinary heritage.

In Fira, we ate in a place called Daphne Taverna. They had really good food at affordable prices. We love their tzatziki! Greg had a plate of sea bass cooked with lemon and other herbs for €9 while I had lamb cooked to such tenderness that it was falling apart for only €6! I wanted to order more but it’s impossible to do so – we were stuffed!

In Oia, there’s a place called Lotza. Their view was amazing. Food portions were generous. Price wasn’t as cheap as those in Fira but still more affordable than most restaurants in Oia. We were walking along the alleyway when we smelled the enticing aroma coming from their kitchen. It made us curious and definitely caught our attention. What’s entertaining to see was how everybody else stopped mid-stride in front of their entrance coz of the delicious smell! Mmmm! It’s worth it. :D

Why? You’ll get to visit the volcano in the middle of the caldera that is in almost every picture that you’ll take of Santorini. You’ll get to swim in a hot spring – or in our case, a slightly-less-cold-than-the-surrounding-area’s-water. And also, you’ll get to visit the island of Thirasia. You could also go on a sunset tour and have dinner in some island but you can only avail of it during peak season. Plus, it’s affordable!

4. Rent a motorbike/ ATV/ car + Explore the islandWe rented our motorbike -with helmets -in Tony’s at Fira for €20 per day.
We paid €5 for full insurance coverage.
A full tank on our bike costs around €8. It was more than enough for 2 full day.

There are many rental shops in the island so just keep looking (and/or bargaining) if you want a deal to suit your budget.

I would advise against renting transportation if you haven’t had any experience in driving. Haha Well, people do attempt to rent vehicles even if they don’t know how! :p Anyways, there IS public transportation in Santorini. There are buses plying the island. It’s just that nothing beats the convenience of having a car (or in our case, a motorbike) at your disposal. Santorini has quite a number of places to visit… red beach, white beach and black beaches; monastery; archaeological sites and vineyards.

Our trusty 125cc motorbike

I love how he’d pull over every time I make a remark as to how beautiful the view is so that I could appreciate it!♥

Gorgeous Red Beach

5. Watch the sunset

You could basically do it anywhere on top of the caldera. You’re spoilt for choices. There’s Fira, Imerovigli and Oia to name a few. Oia would be the most popular choice. It’s a very picturesque small town perched at the edge if a cliff. We were told though that during peak season (summer months: late June til early September), the whole island has got tons of visitors that if you’ll go to Oia for the sunset, you will be crammed with other tourists and might end up stuck in some narrow passageway for an hour! We encountered many visitors but not enough that we got some nice spots all to ourselves!

Fira sunset

Oia sunset

Having a memorable trip to Santorini – priceless! ;)

Any other suggestions on what would be a nice thing to do in the island of Santorini? I’d love to hear from you! :)

The Greek island of Santorini is such a popular destination. It’s almost always included in any list of the most romantic island in the planet; or a list of the most popular. No wonder it’s a popular wedding destination! I told one of my Greek patient that I’ll visit Santorini and his first question to me was whether I plan to get married there. -_- hehe

Since I’m so excited to share about this trip, here are some pictures of Santorini that I took just a few days ago – I got back to London only a few hours ago! haha

The town of Fira – capital of Santorini.

Kameni Volcano Island

Red Beach. The island has also got a white and black beaches but I haven’t seen a red yet so that’s where we went.

Oia, the town that’s known for its beautiful sunset! I gotta say that Oia is prettier than Fira. This is the case because the earthquake that shook the island in 1956 destroyed most of Oia so it’s basically a young town (by Greek standard. hehe) . The pictures that come to mind when people speak of Santorini were most likely taken from this town.